Blog

Author of the Saga of Ukumog discusses the challenges of being an author, the tools and processes he uses while writing, and sometimes posts something completely unrelated. This blog is the author exposed.

Things have happened since my last post in March. Sorry that I have been away, but I haven't felt like I have much to say. Honestly, I need to learn to realize that I should write, even when I don't want to. More on that in a bit.

I went to two conventions in the time since my last update. One was Treklanta, a small-ish Star Trek convention here in Atlanta. The other was Sci Fi Summer Con.

In this post, I am going to give you guys a quick highlight of the things that happened at these shows, from my perspective. Sorry I don't have very many pictures to share, I was kinda busy, but I have put in a bunch of links for the shows and some of the awesome people I have met. I hope you at least enjoy those.

January 14th 2010 is when the first edition of Wracked hit the Amazon Store. To celebrate, the kindle versions of both Wracked and Desecrated are on sale for 1.99 from now until 1/14/2016. Now there is no excuse not to pick them up and read them.

Yeah, yeah. They are dark, I get it. Darth Vader was dark. Conan was dark. Game of Thrones is UZKING dark.

Buy the books, read them, then tell me how awesome/terrible they are. I dare you.

A writer will plot out their story, writing outlines and summaries, so they know what they are trying to tell. When the time comes to actually sit down and put words on the page, something very odd happens.

This book was a long time coming. I really struggled to get it out there into the world. Mostly because writing isn't my full time gig, so it was at odds with other aspects of my life. Once I got into a routine, and found ways to navigate the roadblocks and other demands on me, things got easier. Don't ever let anyone tell you that writing novels is easy.

Once the book was done, and we got the final version of the manuscript complete, I then turned my attention to the layout and art. Only doing complicated things, like doing the internal layout of a book, once every year makes them so much harder than they would be if I did them regularly. I am still such a novice at the writing part, let alone trying to manipulate images and making covers. Still, I muddled and bungled my way through it, and I am very glad I did so.

So, if you have picked up a copy of Flayed, thank you for reading. Thank you for contributing to the story that rolls around in my head. Just you reading it means that I am not alone in the story. We share this journey together. That is, quite frankly, amazing.

Please, enjoy the story. If I make you feel one real emotion for these characters or their situation I feel like I have done my job. Hopefully it can happen more than once. I promise that I will do my very best to get you the next part of the story faster than the last.

A few hours ago I received an email from JukePop.com, a serial publishing site. For those of you who don't know, serial publishing is where an author puts up work chapter by chapter and allows for people to read, comment, and subscribe to their work. They sometimes put portions or the entire book behind a paywall so that you have to pay to read it.

JukePop is a website and an app, allowing people to read things on the go, and they seem very focused on creating a community around authors and readers. Which I find rather compelling.

Well, it has certainly been a while since I was here. Sorry for my absence, but I have been a little busy.

Time has really been getting away from me lately. I hear that is a symptom of getting older, even if I refuse to believe that I am getting old, I have to admit that I am not sure where the year has gone.

This year has been rather devoid of conventions for yours truly. I have attended zero. Every time I think about reaching out to a con about being a guest or getting a table, there is either a conflict or time just gets away from me. Don't misunderstand me, I do actually love doing shows. Meeting new people, other authors, and seeing friends and fans is always a great time. I just don't know where the time is going. Perhaps I am getting older. Naaaaaah.

As it turns out, I will be attending Liberty Con again this year. Right now I am schedule for very little during my time there, which means I will likely be wandering around trying to figure out what I should be doing next. If you see me there in the hallways, please feel free to say hello. I might not have time to stop and chat, but who knows - I might be interested in checking out your panel on science, gaming, or stories.

If you haven't attended Liberty Con before and you like books, science, or games: You really should consider it. The collection of people at the Con are very unique and welcoming.

I also just came back from a trip to Charleston. Traveling always has a way of recharging my batteries a bit. Going to cons also includes travel sometimes, so going to shows sounds like a winning proposition to me.

Oh, one more thing!

Here is an excerpt from what I am currently working on, with very little editing (so be kind). I am sure it is nothing:

With Ukumog in my hand, I walked the stone road up towards the castle in Flay. Behind me the city was on fire, the grand statue in the center had been cracked, the raven cut in half, and the head of the regal man lay in the leaking basin below. In my other hand I held the large bronze crown from the statue. Blood ran from my hand down the crown and dripped onto the hot stones of the street where it sizzled and smoked. There were no cries of panic, no one running for safety. All the people of Flay were either gone or dead, and I didn’t care to know which. Purple flames rose from Ukumog as I ascended through the first gate and into the high city of Flay. I saw the banners of all eight of the great houses of Flay, and I knew their names. First came the house called Horn, with the banner of two pairs of antlers. These antlers were stacked, one set on top of the other, and the top ones were much larger than the bottom pair. Next came a banner with three inkwells and one quill. Each of these items was in a separate quarter of the space, with the quill being in the upper left quarter. This was the banner of house Juindar. Next was the banner of house Xyan; it was a simple banner with nothing but a triangle in the center. The banner that followed was of a hammer and shield, and belonged to house Numerum. House Aeochael stood out against the rest, as their banner had wavy lines coming together in the center forming a stylized cat’s eye. The banner of three mountains belonged to house Ruthrom. House Chundai’s banner was of a stalk of wheat and an ear of corn crossed in front of a green and growing tree. The gruesome banner of house Grunnax was that of a hand with palm facing outward, but with a large slice missing between the thumb and forefinger. The white raven on house Ellarin’s banner had rubies for eyes and was carrying a simple ring in its beak. I passed each of these houses with their banners flying in the wind, and as they fell behind me, flames consumed first the banners and then the buildings themselves. As I reached the great gate leading into the castle itself, I saw the banner of House Kalindir itself: A mighty sword pointed downwards, with raven’s wings on either side of the sword, as if the sword were the body for these wings. Hovering over the pommel of the sword was the regal image of a crown. Without saying a word, I walked directly up to the gate and, casting the bloody crown to the ground, I grasped Ukumog with both hands and lifted it over my head. I screamed in anger, frustration, and pain so loudly that the castle trembled before me. The banner of the king’s house burst into purple flames over my head and I brought Ukumog crashing down into the massive gate of the castle. The gate’s doors and portcullis reacted as if a mountain had come crashing into them. Wood splintered, metal twisted, and stone exploded. Before me, I saw two figures wrapped in smoke and dust, each wearing a crown. Rage built in my chest, and I wanted to raise Ukumog again and charge into them, but suddenly there were more figures with them. These were like the shadows I had seen before in my visions. Before I could do anything, I saw them erupt into action, and to my surprise it was not me they engaged in combat, but each other. As I watched these men, women, and monsters dance with violent intent, I heard a soft and subtle chuckle from somewhere behind me. The ground erupted, and some giant unseen thing from under us sent the burning ruins of Flay into the air like a handful of dirt. These images were so powerful and their sudden end jarred me, and my fear, out of the dream and back into the world.

In 2005 I started writing something. That something was a simple few pages for something else, but it left me with a question. A hole into a world that was not the original world that I was writing about. I blew off the curiosity that I had for that other place, those other characters. I tried to ignore it. That didn't go as I had planned.

In my last post I said that I would post here when Shadow of the Pyramid had a release date. Well, things happened rather quickly and it was launched nearly accidentally. I had intended for the Kindle version of the book to be available the same day, but things did not go according to plan.